Beautifying Canarsie Park And The Surrounding Area

By Linda Steinmuller

Left to right: Dionne K. Wilson, Tracy Jacobs and Rickricia Samuel placing mulch around trees on Seaview Avenue. Residents visiting Canarsie Park or driving down Seaview Avenue recently may have noticed over 30 workers dressed in bright blue t-shirts. The laborers, who work for the Jamaica Bay/Rockaway Parks Restoration Corps, cleaned up damage caused by Hurricane Sandy and made our park a more pleasant place to spend a summer day.

The workers removed garbage, tree debris and pulled weeds from outside the park. They also placed mulch around trees on the traffic islands along Seaview Avenue.

NYC Parks, in partnership with the National Park Service, launched the Jamaica Bay/Rockaway Parks Restoration Corps on May 16th. National Emergency Grant funds, through the New York State Department of Labor, employed 200 workers to assist in the clean-up, restoration and reconstruction of Jamaica Bay and the Rockaways.

Left to right: Horacio Forbes, Jonathan Hernandez, Lisa McCune and Rachael William with tree branches they removed from Canarsie Park. Corp members will restore woodlands, wetlands and parkland damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

In July 2012, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed an unprecedented agreement between the City of New York and the National Park Service – spelling out ways to cooperatively manage 10,000 acres of federal and city-owned parks in and around Jamaica Bay to promote visitation, education programs, scientific research and recreational opportunities.

Thanks to the Restoration Corps team for beautifying our park!

You may see and purchase more photos from the event by visiting www.canarsiecourier.com. Just click on the blue button.

Piles of garbage and debris collected from Canarsie Park.
Photos by Linda Steinmuller